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August 05 TRANSFORM NEWS “ Most of us aren't heroin addicts because we don't want to be heroin addicts. Or coke heads or meth freaks. The people who do want to be junkies are junkies. Were hard drugs decriminalised, it's dubious that consumption would appreciably rise….” (Lionel Shriver in the Guardian – see below) August has proven to be an interesting month with some very positive developments and some sad ones. Chris Davies (leader of the Liberal; Democrat MEPs) received a lot of coverage when he called for the legalisation and regulation of all drugs. This month has also seen the sad death of Mo Mowlam (ex-labour MP and minister), a friend of Transform who will be greatly missed. Transform have been gearing up for the new parliamentary session producing a range of new information resources and fine tuning our new campaigning initiatives. We are also developing the organisation, hoping to recruit a new information officer/fundraiser and looking for new trustees (If this is something that might interest you see the ‘What you can do’ section below for further information) -Please keep your comments, ideas and stories coming. e-mail: info@tdpf.org.uk , -Pass this onto your friends; subscribers can join by visiting: http://www.tdpf.org.uk/Contact.htm -All previous newsletters are viewable on our website should you have missed them or only just signed up: http://www.tdpf.org.uk/Newsletter.htm -Please link to our website Thanks for reading! Contents ----1. UK NEWS----- *Chris Davies MEP calls for legalisation! * Mo Mowlam dies. *Why can’t you buy heroin at Boots? *Lawyer in ‘legalise drugs’ call * Mushroom Crackdown ‘just sham’ *National Links ---- 2. INTERNATIONAL NEWS ---- *Calls in U.S. for changes in drug laws *A whiff of reefer madness in US drug laws *LEAP Policeman on the home stretch *International Links ----3. WHAT TRANSFORM HAS BEEN UP TO----- *It’s all Greek to me! *Publicity Leaflet *Annual Report *Publications
* Become a Trustee! *Write to your MP if you have one – or visit them! * Help with our fundraising! ** Chris Davies, Lib Dem MEP calls for drugs to be legalised. This has been widely reported (see below). The Lib Dem MEP has not only opened up the debate on the current UK drug policy, but he’s called for far wider reaching measures than that of the Lib Dems official policy. Whilst their policies are comfortably the most progressive and well thought out, they didn’t actually call for legalisation beyond cannabis (and even that comes with some hefty caveats). Hopefully this can enable some sensible debates on the subject in the house and in the UK. Interestingly Chris has been calling for legalisation for a number of years and has been in contact with Transform for some time. This was perhaps more of a silly season story for political correspondents twiddling their thumbs during the parliamentary recess. Still, all to the good, and fair play to Chris for sticking to his guns. http://politics.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,9115,1553549,00.html http://politics.guardian.co.uk/libdems/story/0,9061,1549595,00.html http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article305940.ece http://www.macclesfield-express.co.uk/news/s/203/203180_euro_mps_call_to_legalise_heroin.html ----- ** Mo Mowlam dies. A sad day. Many articles and tributes have been written about her – following are just a couple. The former drugs minister was a long time advocate of drug law reform, although she only went public with her views when she stepped down from office. She also managed, with failing health to write a book with her husband calling for a thorough re-think in the current ‘war on drugs’. As a long-time friend advocate for Transform, she and her frankness will be sorely missed. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-1743401,00.html http://news.scotsman.com/politics.cfm?id=1818872005 ----- ** Why can’t you buy heroin at Boots? Asks Lionel Shriver, columnist at the Guardian. “ "Blimey, all this time I haven't been an intravenous drug addict because heroin is against the law! If I wouldn't get arrested, I'd spend every day in an apathetic swoon, alienate my friends and lose my job!" For more click here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/Columnists/Column/0,5673,1554563,00.html ----- **Lawyer in ‘legalise drugs’ call A senior Scottish legal figure has issued a call for all drugs to be legalised, it has emerged. Former procurator fiscal David Hingston said the battle against drugs in Scotland was being lost. He has suggested that all banned substances should be made legal in a bid to bring the growing problem back under control. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/4164598.stm ---- **Mushroom Crackdown ‘just sham’: An answer from Home Office minister to a parliamentary question has revealed that the Government expects to make only 10 prosecutions a year of users and dealers in the illegal fungi. Why did they bother?… Transform news and briefings on Magic Mushrooms http://www.tdpf.org.uk/MediaNews_PressReleases_15_07_05_%20Magic_Mushroom_Class_A.htm ---Useful links to UK drug news-- http://www.drinkanddrugs.net - Drink & Drug News http://www.thehempire.com - Cannabis news (and wider drug issues), quality free monthly news email and great website. The best and most up to date of the cannabis oriented sites. http://www.dailydose.net - excellent daily/weekly round up of news (free subscription) , links and a peerless searchable UK drug news archive. www.crew2000.co.uk and www.palad.org.uk - affiliates to Transform and well worth a look to see related campaigns around the country. www.ldan.org.uk - London Drug and Alcohol Network. ---- 2. INTERNATIONAL NEWS ---- **CALLS FOR CHANGES IN THE DRUG LAWS In Britain and beyond, the calls for legalisation are becoming louder and more frequent. Here are a few international ones: Juanes, a Colombian pop star, and one of the biggest stars in Latin American calls for the legalisation of drugs. Read more here: http://www.willcoxrangenews.com/articles/2005/08/30/news/editorial_opinions/edit2.txt http://narcosphere.narconews.com/story/2005/8/26/151810/738 Here’s another we’ve added in full: U.S. SUPERIOR COURT JUDGE CONDEMNS WAR ON DRUGS Taken from the Vancouver Sun 13 th August 2005 Country's Anti-Narcotics Campaign a 'Lost' And 'Hopeless' Effort It's not to hard to find people who will say that the war on drugs has been lost and that marijuana, and even cocaine, ought to be legalized. But when U.S. Judge James P. Gray says it, he's one of a handful of judges leading a charge against the policies of his own country, especially at a time when the U.S. appears to be getting tougher on drug users. "Not only [is it] lost, but our war on drugs is hopeless because of the money. What our United States government is trying to do is repeal the law of supply and demand and they still haven't focused on the fact that you can't do it," Gray said in an interview. The California Superior Court judge in Orange County is one of the speakers at the Canadian Bar Association's annual conference this weekend in Vancouver. He will join a panel on drug policy called "The New Underground Reefer Railroad" that will explore U.S. and international drug policy, especially as it applies to those who use medical marijuana. The panel will also question whether medical-marijuana activists should be offered protection under the Geneva Convention. For more than 25 years, the bar association has had a policy on the books calling for the decriminalization of marijuana, arguing that current policy stigmatizes whole generations of young people and unnecessarily diverts money away from serious crime investigations. A Canadian parliamentary committee is considering a bill that would decriminalize pot possession. But on the other side of the border, Gray says the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that says the federal government may still ban possession of marijuana for medical purposes is "stupid." "You know, the Supreme Court has the right to be wrong as well," he said in an interview from California, noting that they have made historically wrong decisions in the past such as allowing the internment of Japanese Americans during the Second World War. "I say again, they lost their moral compass, and they are wrong with regard to the [medical marijuana] case," he said. "What we are doing is downright stupid." Gray has been one of the most outspoken judges in the U.S. on the need for decriminalization -- and even legalization -- of drugs, including cocaine. He argues that the massive amounts of money generated by the industry makes it impossible to win the war. Likewise, an entire society is built around the law enforcement needs of trying to shut drugs down. The U.S. has spent a half-trillion dollars on the drug war since the 1970s, and the problem has only worsened. He would not comment on the case of Marc Emery, the Vancouver pot activist and leader of the B.C. Marijuana Party, who was recently arrested on the direction of DEA agents. But Gray said it is clear to him that criminalization of drugs will never solve society's drug problems. "I say we should treat marijuana like alcohol, regulate it, control it." Gray is a member of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, a group including Vancouver Mayor Larry Campbell, who support drug regulation as a way of controlling it. Gray, a Libertarian who ran for one of two Senate positions in California in 2004, said his fundamental argument against the U.S. drug policy is that it doesn't work. Drug and alcohol misuse are societal medical issues, not criminal, he said. "So if you or I or Aunt Nellie are impaired in their driving, for example, by marijuana or any other drug, including alcohol, that should be a crime. It's a crime because they are putting our safety at risk," he said. "But what they put into their bodies should be a medical decision, and should not be a governmental decision at all." He cites the example of actor Robert Downey Jr.'s cocaine habit. "I don't use cocaine, I think it is a very bad judgment decision. But it makes as much sense to me to put this gifted actor Robert Downey Jr. in jail for his cocaine problem, and he certainly seems to have one, as it would have to put Betty Ford in jail for her alcohol problem." ----- **A WHIFF OF REEFER MADNESS IN US DRUG LAWS Why is cannabis, of all drugs, the main target of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy? Sally Satel delves into the central place the ‘gateway theory’ has in US drug laws: **AFTER FIVE YEARS AND BILLIONS OF U.S AID IN THE DRUG WAR, COCAINE PRODUCTION STILL THRIVES . “ Plan Colombia was designed to cut the country's narcotics production in half by this year, and the U.S. government has pumped $4 billion into the program thus far. During its first three years, U.S. and Colombian officials touted estimates showing a steady drop in the amount of land used for growing coca, from a peak of 169,800 hectares in 2001 to 113,850 two years ago. But for the first time since Plan Colombia's inception, the number of hectares planted with coca showed no decrease in 2004, according to U.S. State Department figures.” Read more here: http://msnbc.msn.com/id/9025208/site/newsweek/ ----- ** LEAP Policeman nearly home after mammoth ‘there and back’ horseback ride across America all in the name of legalising drugs. Read more here about his ride, the people he’s met and the conversations he’s had: http://leap.cc/howard/index.html ---- **International Links -Encod - European Coalition for Just and Effective Drug Policies. Check out their ‘latest bulletin’ http://www.encod.org/BULLETIN7.pdf -Drug Policy Alliance -- the leading US drug policy reform organisation http://www.drugpolicy.org/homepage.cfm -The International Anti-Prohibitionist League: (the are politically affiliated to the transnational radical party) http://www.antiprohibitionist.org/index.html Transnational Institute Drugs and Democracy Project ----3. WHAT TRANSFORM HAS BEEN UP TO----- **ITS ALL GREEK TO ME One of our volunteers (David Crane) recently went to an International Drug Policy Reform Conference in Greece, hosted by Elefsyna– a Greek anti-prohibitionist movement. Here is a brief synopsis of his trip: “ Dimitris and Jorge were there to pick me up from the airport. Dimitris is a late 40s, long-time campaigner and businessman. Jorge is an early 60s ex Greek minister, MP, doctor and all round uber-campaigner. Dimitris did most of the talking as Jorge’s English wasn’t too hot (but infinitely better than my Greek). He told me all about Elefsyna, how they act as an umbrella organisation for many different campaigning groups throughout Greece, how they stood at the European elections and received thousands of votes, again spread throughout Greece, that they had between 12 and 14 different volunteers working for them and how they were the main anti-prohibitionist group in the country. The conference was good if fairly small. My presentation had been translated into Greek and was visible on big screen. The audience seemed keen to know what was happening in the UK but they gave particular attention to the part where I spoke about the need for a pan-European organisation to counter the influence of the US. It seemed to me that they, like many other countries, resent the US’s cultural imperialism and even if they don’t support legalisation they resented America telling them to oppose it. Given that we’re influenced by the US and that we resent it, there may be some capital in condemning America’s influence in the UK or, as Danny suggested, calling for a localised drug policy that deals with the particular problems and specific cultural attitudes of the UK. They also showed us (footage of) the cannabis rally they had on May 7 th. 3,000 people attended – about the same as London and not bad at all for a city with half the population. Eight media publications covered the event …and I did enjoy the anti-prohibitionist songs, (during the evening do) even if they were incomprehensible! “ Check the organisation out here: http://www.elefsyna.org/ (NB – the majority is in Greek, but there are a few pages in English!) ----- ** Our new publicity leaflet will be out SOON! Copies will be available in print or to download from the website. ----- **Our Annual Report, which will be available in print or online in October time. ----- *Transform in the Media* As ever we have been working closely with various media, mostly behind the scenes on a range of ‘silly season’ stories - here is a sample of what’s been going on in August: **Transform featured in the Royal Society of Arts bi-monthly Journal, which included a 4 page article entitled “The Forces of Habit”: “Despite spending millions of pounds each year on attempting to curb illegal drug supply and deal with its effects, we are no closer to controlling the UK drug trade.” This article introduces the RSA commission charged with finding out why: http://www.rsa.org.uk/journal/article.asp?articleID=576 **A letter by Steve, Transform Information Officer, ( http://www.guardian.co.uk/letters/story/0,,1552047,00.html ) was published in the Guardian in response to an article where Paul Hayes (National Treatment Agency) and Chris Fox (Association of Chief Police Officers) attempt to answer questions about prohibition posed by journalist Nick Davies: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1550410,00.html *For help with raising awareness through the media see below and the ‘What you can do page’ on the TDPF site here; http://www.tdpf.org.uk/Parliament_WhatYouCanDo.htm For more advice please call the Transform office on 0117 941 5810. Send in your media tips, warnings, successes and failures - we’ll include them here. Charities Aid Foundation Online Giving service: http://www.tdpf.org.uk/AboutUs_TdpfFunding.htm Please support Transform by making a donation at our secure online donation page administered by the Charities Aid Foundation. Donations can be one off or regular. Please give generously - we need your support. (Transform relies solely on donations from individuals and charitable trusts to maintain its work) **Publications -“Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything” Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J Dubner “Which is more dangerous, a gun or a swimming pool? What do schoolteachers and sumo wrestlers have in common? Why do drug dealers still live with their moms? How much do parents really matter? What kind of impact did Roe v. Wade (legalisation of abortion) have on violent crime?” All these questions and more are explored in a very easily readable fashion. Highly interesting and entertaining (if a bit cheesy in places). For more info: http://www.telegraphindia.com/1050909/asp/opinion/story_5193104.asp -“Forces of Habit: Drugs and the Making of the Modern World” David T Courtwright “ Courtwright's theme is that psychoactive drugs - legal and illegal - are commodities, like sugar or soap. They are manufactured, packaged, distributed, marketed and used much like any other commodity. Drugs go in and out of favor (tobacco is increasingly unfashionable in the U.S.), prices obey the principle of supply and demand, and new and improved products are constantly being introduced. The drug business - both legal and illegal - is highly competitive, and those in it are always trying to reduce costs and maximize profits.” -“After the War on Drugs - Options for Control” – now also available in Spanish and Portugese! Transform’s groundbreaking report examines the key themes in the drug policy reform debate, detailing how legal regulation of drug markets will operate and providing a roadmap and time line for reform. The report can be downloaded as a PDF from: http://www.tdpf.org.uk/Policy_General_AftertheWaronDrugsReport.htm For printed copies please contact info@tdpf.org.uk **Transform are looking for up to three highly experienced individuals to join our Board of Trustees, one of whom will be prepared to step up to the position of Chair. **Write to your MP/councillor and ask them their views on the current drug policy. Ask their opinion on the war on drugs, the fact that it isn’t working and what they think should be done. They have a duty to reply, and then you can begin a dialogue. Remember always to be polite however much you may disagree with them! Get to work on your new MP. Book a visit to their surgery - you can meet with them and discuss any issue that you fancy. Its really easy! One of our volunteers visited his MP last month, who just happened to be Charles Clarke – the Home Secretary! The meeting was very positive, and various Transform materials were passed on. Transform provided a detailed briefing and training before the visit. Call us for help. Do you know who your MP is?! They may have changed since the election. Find out here: http://www.locata.co.uk/commons Try writing/e-mailing your local paper or a national paper. Look out for drug related stories in newspapers (and other publications) and respond in the letters pages. Here’s evidence to show it works: we promise ‘DJ Welch’ is not a put up job, he wrote to the Observer of his own volition: http://observer.guardian.co.uk/letters/story/0,,1451131,00.html -Visit online discussion & news forums and get involved in debates – post links to Transform web resources - this has a secondary benefit of raising our profile on search sites like Google. If you find online discussion forums where people are discussing drug policy - send us the links and we will include them in the next newsletter. Please pass this onto your friends - subscribers can join by visiting: http://www.tdpf.org.uk/Contact.htm For other ideas and more details on what you can do see : http://www.tdpf.org.uk/Parliament_WhatYouCanDo.htm For more information and analysis: www.tdpf.org.uk Transform Drug Policy Foundation is a registered charity no: 1100518 The organisations, agencies, and information linked from www.tdpf.org.uk represent a variety of viewpoints from across the drug policy field. Transform is not responsible for the contents of sites linked on this newsletter, and does not automatically endorse linked information. Any suggested additions or corrections please email info@tdpf.org.uk If you have received this mail in error, or if would like to unsubscribe from the list, just click reply/e-mail info@tdpf.org.uk with ‘unsubscribe me‘ as the subject. If you know anyone who might enjoy this newsletter please pass it on. New subscribers can join by visiting http://www.tdpf.org.uk/Contact.htm Fran Kellett Transform Drug Policy Foundation Easton Business Centre Felix Road Easton Bristol BS5 0HE email: fran@tdpf.org.uk Telephone: +44 0117 941 5810 Facsimile: +44 0117 941 5809 website: www.tdpf.org.uk To subscribe to Transform's newsletter visit: http://www.tdpf.org.uk/Contact.htm This document accompanying this transmission may contain confidential information, which may be legally privileged. This information is intended for the use of the named individual. You are notified that any disclosure, copying and distribution is prohibited. If you receive this message in error please delete it.
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